Luen Thai Holdings Ltd., the country’s biggest garment exporter, has committed to double its exports to $100 million a year, hire 6,000 additional workers and additional investments of $20 million once the proposed bill filed in the US Congress seeking preferential tariffs on the country’s garment exports to the US is passed.

Company chief executive officer Henry Tan told reporters at the 2009 Qing Yuan-Manila Business Conference that easily they would be able to ramp up production because the proposed “Save Our Industries Act” would attract more American buyers of Philippine-made apparel to take advantage of the preferential tariff.

“We can easily double our exports,” Tan said noting they are exporting between $40 million to $50 million a year.

At present, Luen Thai has three manufacturing plants in the country in Clark, San Fernando in Camp Olivas and Cebu. Clark is Luen Thai’s second biggest production facility of Polo shirts and knit shirts. The Cebu branch produces Adidas sporting apparel. Its biggest facility is located in China.

Tan said that doubling up their production is easy because the passage of the bill would enable them to go into the different channels of distribution meaning they can tap other big retail chains, particularly JC Penney for volume garment categories.

“We have to be solidly behind this bill because this will make the local industry competitive,” Tan said.

Tan said the preferential tariff would improve the cost competitiveness of the local manufacturers because their exports would be facing lower tariff than the regular tariffs applied to all garment exporters to the US.